Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud felt nostalgia throwing the ball to his former Ohio State teammate, receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., during a 34-31 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars in London on Sunday.
Stroud said it was like "old times" playing with Harrison again. Harrison had three catches for 34 yards in his Texans debut.
“It felt like old times. Felt like old times, man. I’m proud of him. Happy for him,” Stroud said after the game. “Looked like he was excited to be out there, and I think we’ll get him more touches and more plays here in the season.”
Stroud said right after the trade that Harrison was the hardest worker he had ever been around in his career.
"I think he brings a dynamic playmaker, somebody who runs great routes. Can catch really any ball. I'm super-excited to get with him. I loved him in college. He’s probably the hardest worker I’ve ever been around in my life...I'm excited to get him in here and around the other guys," Stroud said.
Marvin Harrison Jr. joins C.J. Stroud and a stacked Texans WR room
So far, Harrison is just getting warmed up.
Stroud favored Jaylin Noel during the win over Jacksonville across the ocean, with the second-year receiver hauling in four catches for 107 yards, one of them being a touchdown. Former TTUN star Nico Collins had three catches for 74 yards as part of Stroud's 312 passing yards against the Jaguars.
Harrison may not have the designs to be the franchise wideout on the Texans he was seemingly destined to be after being selected by the Arizona Cardinals in the 2024 NFL draft. Noel is having a major breakout year, while Collins is one of the league's premier wideouts already. Tight end Dalton Schultz is also a favorite of Stroud in the middle of the field.
Then again, it's not like Harrison isn't used to sharing targets with elite talents. Emeka Egbuka, Carnell Tate, Garrett Wilson, Chris Olave, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba were all teammates of Harrison in Columbus. Even tight end Cade Stover is in Houston with Harrison and Stroud again, though he's not much of a factor in the Texans' passing game.
It's not the situation Harrison was hoping to be in at this point, but we don't know how things will unfold. Perhaps the fit was simply that bad in Glendale. It's not like the Jacoby Brissett contract holdout drama wasn't at least a little distracting. Ditto for Kyler Murray's troubled late years on the Cardinals.
Harrison has the chance to revive his career in a new NFL home. We'll see if things are different for the former Buckeye with his Ohio State quarterback.
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